Hedge fund launches first ETF for Canadian heavy crude oil

CALGARY, Alberta May 12 (Reuters) - The first
exchange-traded fund tracking the price of Canadian heavy crude
launched on Tuesday, enabling investors to gain exposure to the
country's physical crude market and potentially boosting
liquidity.

The Canadian Crude Oil Index ETF, issued by Calgary-based
hedge fund manager Auspice Capital Advisors Ltd, will be based
on the price of Western Canada Select heavy blend crude.

Auspice President and Chief Investment Officer Tim Pickering
said the new ETF could increase participation in the relatively
illiquid Canadian crude market.

"In Alberta, we have got a market that is participated in
almost exclusively by wholesale participants. What's missing is
speculators and retail players, people that have different
motivations," Pickering said.

"You need healthy markets to have liquidity for all
different types of investors and, up until this point, I don't
think that has been the case for Canadian crude oil."

On the first day, some 11,000 shares traded on the Toronto
Stock Exchange under the ticker CCX, Pickering said.

The new ETF tracks the performance of Auspice's Canadian
Crude Excess Return Index, which reflects the returns an
investor would receive from holding WCS futures.

Pickering said it will enable market players keen to bet on
Canada's oil patch to do so without having to invest in the
underlying producers.
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